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James Webb Telescope Passes Critical Tests

Posted by kdawson on from the good-to-go dept.

eldavojohn writes "The Hubble Telescope's successor reached a milestone today as it passed a critical design review. The James Webb Space Telescope was originally set to launch in 2013 but has run about $1B over budget and has been pushed back to a 2014 launch. Today's good news means that there shouldn't be further delays as the JWST has accomplished all science and engineering requirements for all mission-critical design functionality. Scientists, of course, think these delays and costs 'pale in comparison to the secrets of the universe the James Webb Space Telescope is expected to unlock.' These are exciting times for many realms of science, even if we're somewhat saddened by it being the loyal Hubble's twilight hours."

6 of 82 comments (clear)

  1. general question by cadience · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Do long multi-year projects typically take inflation into account for budget overrun analysis?

    1. Re:general question by Nyeerrmm · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yes, when doing a budget for a large project you always use cost units such as FY2010 dollars.

  2. ooooooh! It "passed" a "test" ! by Ancient_Hacker · · Score: 2, Interesting

    BEfore we wet our pants in excitement, let's remember:

    * The Hubble passed a slew of design reviews too.
    * Even so, it went up with many, many flaws, including:
    * Electronics not shielded well enough to handle the South Atlantic Anomaly.
    * Gyroscopes not qualified for the temperature cycles and SAA.
    * Solar panels that oilcan buckle when going from sunlight to shade.
    * Solar panel mount that does not go through the center of mass of the scope, so oilcan buckling causes the whole thing to oscillate.
    * Unbalanced and uncushioned light cap that likewise shakes the whole thing when it's operated.

    Although the new scope will have been checked against that list of problems, without major overhaul of the management structure, it's likely the same thing will happen this time.

     

  3. Re:ooooooh! It "passed" a "test" ! by TapeCutter · · Score: 3, Interesting

    People look at these scopes as single instruments but a lot of those scopes (including Hubble) are part of NASA's Great Observatories project which aims to cover as much of the EM spectrum as posible. IMHO it has to be the most underrated scientific project on the planet.

    --
    And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
  4. Timely article by Leebert · · Score: 2, Interesting

    My last day at Goddard Space Flight Center was yesterday. (almost 10 years!) I finally got around to getting a friend to give me a tour of the Spacecraft Systems Design and Integration Facility, where I got to see JWST parts in the clean room. (heh, 20 minutes of gowning procedures for a 10 minute trip into the clean room.) Very, very cool. Gonna miss that place.

    I'm pretty sure I'm going to follow JWST a lot more heavily now, too many friends are involved in it to ignore it as I have been.

    (Sadly, for what were apparently ITAR reasons I couldn't get pictures.)

    1. Re:Timely article by Shag · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'd love to see JWST. I used to work in astronomy at one of the universities involved in developing the CCD sensors for NIRCam and was around the prototype camera they built with the first few chips off Rockwell's fab, for testing on the terrestrial telescope I operated, but it's just not the same as seeing something that's going into space.

      (Incidentally, that prototype camera was built around 2003ish. They wanted to be sure the chips worked well before launching.)

      --
      Village idiot in some extremely smart villages.